Food Review: Don Diego Edgbaston

Tucked away opposite the White Swan is Chad Square in Edgbaston, near the border with Harborne. Home to a few small shops, this is where you'll find Don Diego restaurant.

A family run restaurant serving up Spanish food, run by two Spanish brothers, the restaurant bills itself as serving "well balanced, sunny flavours with a focus on basic quality ingredients and beautifully presented colourful food."

I headed to the restaurant with a Spanish friend to put them to the test.

Ready to welcome me before I'd even headed to the door, I was busy snapping pictures of the exterior when I was greeted by one of the owners.

The restaurant itself is quite small, with mostly small tables for two and four and velvet sofa seating around the outside. The decor features quirky picture printed wallpaper, red velvet seating and ornate mirrors.

We took our seats and ordered drinks. My dining partner opted for a traditional Alhambra Beer, whilst I had a Gin and Tonic. These arrived super quick, and we ordered some Manzilla Olives (£2.50) to nibble on as my dining partner assured me they are known for their quality.  

For starters, I picked the Smoked Salmon, Red Onions, Lemon Olive Oil (£6.50) and my companion ordered a rustic dish of Rice Black Pudding, Piquillo Peppers and Brava Sauce (£5.95). 

My salmon was a very simple dish of smoked salmon presented well on the plate, with very little else. The flesh however was fresh and sang once covered in lemon juice. 

The peppers came in a spicy tomato sauce, with the sweet exterior housing a well cooked soft filling. 

Our main courses were both fishy, with my dining companion picking the special Octopus Leg Roasted in Paprika Olive Oil (£17.95) and I had the King Prawns, Chillies, Garlic Lobster Bisque (£17.95).

The octopus is a beautiful dish to behold, presented so strikingly that it's become quite iconic in these parts. It was smoky, soft, tender and not at all rubbery.

My prawns were spicy but extremely juicy, and the sauce was delicious with the sides of Patatas Bravas and Vegetables. The potatoes were clearly boiled and then fried, which gave them both a good flavour and crispy texture. 

Wanting to try some authentic Spanish desserts, we also shared the Whiskey Chocolate Semifredo, Berries Dressing (£5.95) and Santiago Almond Tart, Apricot Puree (£5.95). I was suprrised that there was so much choice for a gluten free diner, as so often we're overlooked when it comes to dessert. I was shocked to hear that the Almond Tart doesn't include any flour, and is made from ground almonds, egg white and sugar. This made a delicious sweet treat and I'm so glad we ordered this dessert from the North of Spain. The semifredo was also delicious, sweet, creamy with a little fruit coulis to add to it. 

Don Diego is a traditional family run Spanish restaurant, something that can be difficult to find. As a cuisine, it can be hard to find amongst the hoards of Italian's serving pizza and pasta. With rustic charm and a real sense of authenticity, the food quality meant it was a thumbs up from me and my Spanish friend.

*With thanks to Don Diego and East Village PR for the complimentary meal.

Food Review: Tapas Revolution Grand Central Birmingham Summer Menu

Tapas is such a great dish to gather around. A table full to bursting with small, delectable plates of yum should only be shared with great friends.

I was invited to try out the new Summer menu at Tapas Revolution in Grand Central, Birmingham and invited along a relative to join me for some summer bites.

Located in Grand Central, Tapas Revolution is the brainchild of Omar Allibhoy, Spanish chef, cookbook author and a regular on our TV screens.

This talented Spaniard opened Tapas Revolution Birmingham back in 2015, and it is often busy after work as people drop by to try out tapas, sangria and cocktails.

Settling into our booth with a view, we were able to take a peek at the cocktail menu first and went for some fruitier options to start with. We ordered the Passion Fruit and Marzipan Batida and Blood Orange and Cherry Royal.

With an entirely separate gluten free menu, I was pleased to see that many of the dishes on the main menu are perfectly fine to eat for gluten free guests.

With this in mind, we decided to order dishes that were suitable for both of us including the Marinated Beef Skewers with Spicy Sauce (Pinchos morunas con mojo picon), Paella Valenciana, Tiger Prawns in garlic and chilli oil (Gambas al ajillo), Black Rice with Prawns and Squid (Arroz Negro) and of course Patatas Bravas.

The dishes were brought out quickly, and as they were ready, which meant we could tuck into dishes whilst they were hot.

My favourite dish had to be the black rice paella; a combination of salty flavours and meaty pieces of squid, the flavour balance for me was just right.

The classic paella was also delicious, and the prawns were a good sized portion too. Patatas Bravas was well cooked but not burnt, with enough sauce to cover each piece.

The prawns were heavy on the garlic, but still very enjoyable and a good portion.

Finally the beef skewers. The sauce was for me a touch too spicy but still delicious.

By now it was time to order another cocktail! This time we went for matching martinis, I for the Espresso Blanco Martini and my relative, the sparkling Rose Margerita.

I could enjoy the Tapas Revolution version of the Espresso Martini any day of the week, but I probably shouldn't!

A few hours hours later, we left Tapas Revolution feeling very satisfied. The service we received was excellent, extremely friendly and the restaurant has a great laid back, post work vibe. Our dishes were all satisfying and I'm pleased with what we chose. Next time, I would perhaps have had another dish or two depending on how hungry you are.

There are a number of offers worth checking out too, including the £9.95 lunch deal, half price Sangria jugs and two-for-one Gin and tonic's from 4-7pm, Sunday-Friday.

Thank you to the team at Tapas Revolution for a great meal!

Event: El Borracho De Oro Press Dinner

Spanish food has always been somewhat underrepresented in the city of Birmingham. However, El Borracho De Oro is a new Spanish tapas bar and restaurant in town. Opened over a year ago, it has shamefully taken me this long to take a trip to the Birmingham restaurant.

I visited the restaurant for a press dinner on a balmy evening, where it was only right that we started the evening off outside; the perfect spot for an ice cold sangria. I picked a white Sangria for a change and sipping this outside on the grassy terrace felt particularly European.

Don't fancy sangria? There's a huge selection of wines by the glass, as well as wines by the bottle, beers, spirits and cocktails. 

Proudly boasting that everything on the menu is Spanish, authentic and fresh, the menu is a mix of tapas of every variety. There's a great choice of cheese, bread, ham or jamon of course and even an egg selection. 

We were offered a selection of tapas to try by Emma, the owner of the restaurant, who ensured we were able to try a variety of dishes to get a feel for the menu.

To start, we tried the cured meats selection (£10.50) and cheese selection (£8.95) along with a few nibbles in the form of breadsticks and almonds. Expertly sourced, the jamon was salty and perfect with booze, and the cheese varied and rich in flavour. I especially loved that the cheese was served with quince paste, an absolute favourite of mine and something that is particularly hard to find.

For the rest, there was also bread topped with tomato (£4.50), croquettes of cheese and ham (£4.50) and fried courgette flowers stuffed with cod (£8.50).

Next, I dived into plates of fresh mussels (£7.50). Served in a rich buttery sauce made of hazelnuts, paprika and white wine, these were the highlight of the meal for me. As much as I couldn't taste the nuts, the sauce, named fisherman's sauce, was heavenly and easily scooped up with the shells.

The others also tried the chicken cannelloni Barcelona style (£8.50) before the Iberian suckling pig, deboned and glazed served with an acid apple puree (£9.95).

Finally, there was churros for all, and I enjoyed scooping up the chocolate sauce alone!

All the dishes we tried were pretty reasonably priced, with the vegetarian tapas coming in at a great price for dishes that were so beautifully and carefully prepared.

Everything we tried had so clearly been made from scratch, and the sauces in particular were testament to this. So much time and care as well as expertise goes into crafting these small plates of morsels, and each dish had a personality all of its own.

I'm waiting to find an excuse to go back as there are so many other dishes I'd love to try. The staff were also really good at telling me which dishes were gluten free, so I'll be back to try a properly gluten free feast!

Have you guys been to El Borracho yet?

Food Review: Amantia Birmingham

Happy New Year folks! For my first post of 2016, I'll be talking tapas and sharing my experience of dining at Amantia in Birmingham city centre.

Bennett's Hill is home to plenty of new restaurants, including Cosy Club and of course Buffalo and Rye. But how about Amantia? A truly independent addition to the Birmingham food scene located on one of the city's prime dining and imbibing spots, the restaurant has some serious competition. But what lies behind the unassuming frontage?

Walking off the busy street into the restaurant, you realise that the space is bigger than it appears. With a small bar area to the right of the room, the main dining area is on the left, separated into two by a clever abstract wall.

Dining early on a Monday lunchtime, the restaurant was not busy, but we were there to try the lunch offer and not for a buzzy evening of cocktails. Recently launched, the lunch offer is for two tapas and a drink for £9.99. At such great value, I was lucky enough to try a whopping seven items from the menu of ten, plus a cheeky extra for my companion who loves calamari.

A little about Amantia. Family run by a husband and wife team, the food is all fresh, with everything from the stock to the sausage and ribs made in house; even the bread is made fresh every morning. Much of the food is sourced from Spain, including the wine. The concept is modern too; there is no fussy furniture here, just simple clean decor and fabulous fresh food.

Back to the food. Nibbling on Habas Fritas (fried broad beans) and supping on cranberry juice and Spanish beer, we were treated to a wide selection of dishes from the lunch menu. We ordered every single gluten free item on the menu (yes, unbelievable) and there were an incredible seven out of ten which were suitable for gluten free diners.

The owner, Marta, was wonderful and explained what was in each dish and which were suitable and weren't suitable. For example, whilst the patatas bravas are gluten free, they are fried in the same oil as non gluten-free foods, so I opted to avoid these.

We ordered: Manchego Cheese with home made red pepper marmalade, pollo al ajillo (chicken in garlic sauce), chorizo al vino (spicy mini chorizo sausages cooked in red wine), champinones al ajillo (sauteed garlic mushrooms), tortilla de patata (traditional Spanish omelette), ensalada de queso de cabra (goats cheese salad, honey mustard dressing) and finally, lentejas con chorizo (spanish lentil soup). Off menu, we also ordered the calamari especially for my companion.

Which were my favourites? The tortilla for one was absolutely huge and such a great dish for lunch. Spongy, light and very filling, this is a great one for office workers nearby.

The salad was also delightful, full of flavour with thinly sliced ribbons of carrot, the dressing lifted this to new heights. There was also a very generous helping of rind on goats cheese which made this satisfying in its own right and definitely not an afterthought.

I also adored the cheese, and the quality here was evident. For a true cheese lover like me, the sauce was not needed, but I can imagine that most people would appreciate the added flavour. The presentation was also fantastic.

The next standout was the lentil dish, which was incredibly flavoursome! Add to that that fact that it tasted clearly homemade, this is Spanish comfort food at it's best. 

The chicken was again, a generous portion packed with garlic as was the mushroom dish.

My companion confirmed that the calamari was lightly battered and soft, not rubbery which all too often is the case. 

This was all served with homemade bread, which I'm assured is good.

We rounded off with an espresso each, which came served with a piece of amaretti.

Amantia offers warm and friendly service in a cool and casual environment. The warmth of the food is exactly what you'd expect from a traditional, family run Spanish restaurant, and the passion and love for the food is evident in every mouthful. Rich in flavour, every dish has been carefully thought out and prepared each and every time.

I don't know about you, but I spend £10 whenever I grab a salad and drink from a chain, and for the same price I'd much rather sit down and enjoy a meal properly.

If your resolution was to escape the office at lunch time and you work in Birmingham city centre, I can't recommend Amantia highly enough.

*I was invited to dine as a guest of Amantia